Steam-power plant



3 Sheets-Sheet 1 T. F. FITZSIMONS STEAM POWER PLANT l Filed Feb. 23,1922 l acoI /1 nooo niooao fcnooaoo Oct. Q12 1926.

- Oct. 12 1926.

T. F. FlTzslMoNs STEAM-POWER PLANT 192? 3 Shegts-Sheet 2 File@ Feb. 25

l lm I Ill Im l ma ATTORNEY5 hh. EN.

T. F. FITZSIMONS STEAM POWER PLANT l'Filed Feb. 23, 1922 BY E lATTORNEYS Patented Cet. 12, 1926.

UNITED VSTATES 11.1.113NTv OFFICE.

THOMAS F. `FICLZSIIIYIONS, 0F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK. l

STEAM-POWER PLANT.

Application med rebmary 2s, 1922. serial No. 538,483.

This invention relates to steam power plants and particularly to theconstruction and arrangement of the heat exchanging units, includingboilers and auxiliary ther' mal economizing equipment such as feedwaterheaters and super-'heaters which compose the steam power plants forengines such as locomotives. l

In locomotives as heretofore constructed, it has been the practice tomake thesteam boiler an integral part of the locomotive, the main frameand much of the auxiliary mechanism being securely fixed tothe boilerasby riveting. Thus, when any trouble, even the blowing of a singletube, occurred in the boiler, itvwas necessary to lay up the entirelocomotive during the time required to make the necessary repairs. Sincemost of the defects in locomotivesoccur in the boiler, many hours werespent in the `shop which need not have been if it were possible toquickly replace the defective boiler with one in operative condition. yIt is therefore the principalobject of this l invention to provide alocomotive having a shell containing` a boiler which may be readilylremoved from the shell andeasily replaced, these operations requiringbut a short time and small expense. Thus, by aid of this invention, alocomotive having boiler trouble is run into the shop, the bo1ler eX-changed and back on the road in a much iriefer interval than washeretofore possile. f

Superhe-aters have hitherto .been emi ployed to some extent withlocomotives, but they have been very expensive to install, andrelatively diflicult to remove for the. repairs whichwere constantlyneeded. "Another object of thisr invention'is to provide a simple,easily removable superheatery to cooperate with the boiler, and to'provide means for protectingV the superheater from unduly hightemperatures, thereby lessening the likelihood of burning out or otherdefects which would cause maintenance expense. I

It is an object of'this invention to provide a feed-water heater whichis amply supplied with heat, is mounted for ready removal from itsoperative position,A and speedy replacementby a clean heater, andisalsofdesigned topermit removalof the'` superheater withoutdisplacement fof the feed-Water heater or the boiler. Further objectswill heat-exchanging units.

in part be pointed out and in part be apparent as the descriptionprogresses.

, Briefly stated, the invention contemplates the provision of a steampower plant comprising a number of heat-exchanging units which are ofnovel construction themselves to permit greater economy of operation,are lndependently removableY from their normal. or operating position,and are easily replaceable.

One embodimentof the invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings in which:v

Fig. 1 is aside elevation of a locomotive embodying the'new power plant;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation` of a portionof the structureindicated in Fig. l, but removed from the outer shellg.

Fig.` 3 is a central longitudinal section of the heat-exchanging units;

Fig. 4 is a similar sect-ion on an enlarged scale of a novelsuperheater;

'Fig 5 is a section taken on the line 5-5 of Fig.l y3, showing the frontof a feed-waterv heater, `and Figi.V 6 is a section takenon the line 6 6of Fig. 3, showing the front of a `boiler and Y su erheater.

. eferring now particularly to Figs. l and 2, there is shown alocomotive having wheels arranged as in the usual APacific -type,`thefront truck, driving and trailer wheels in` dicated in dotted lines allbeing secured by suitable journal boxes and springs, not shown',ltothemain frame 1 which extends throughout theV entire length of thelocomotive and carries, by means vof suitably se# cured buckle-plates 2and arcuate braces B, the shell 4 which comprises. the principal rigidsupporting, housing and heat insulating element for the steam generatingor A supportv 5, carried by the main frame, bears against foundationring 19 and thus supports a iireboX or primary combustion chamber 8. Theshell` 4 extends from the front of the locomotive rearwardly to the backend of the irebox, and preferably comprises forward and waistcylindrical sections 20 and 21 connected by a taperingsectionf22,`together with a crown section 9. Each of these sections hasits innersurface covered withk a permanently attached lagging of heatinsulating material `(not shown). These sections areshaped to house afeed-water heater 6, boiler 7 and firebox S. The waist section 21 ot theshell is cylindrical from its front edge rearwardly to the throat of theboiler from which point the lowerl half is cut away vto accommodate thelirebox, thus leaving the side sheets 56 with their stay-bolts exposedtor easy inspection. The crown ot section 21 is cut `away to accommodatethe removable crown section 9 of the shell, which comprises a domecasing 23 tohor-.se a steam dome 2li. ri. cab 10 is detachably securedin any desired manner to the rear edges ot shell sections 9 and 2 Boiler7 surrounds fireboX 8 in the usual manner, and extends forward abouthaltway to the smolreboX, and is thus exposed to the gases ot'combustion at their highest temperature. Forward ot the boiler issituated the Vfeed-water heater 6, a space 114itherebetween beingenclosed by a fuiste-conical wall 25 of suitable material suoli ascastiron.

As seen in Figs. 5 and G, the interior or' each section of the shell lis provided with horizontal angle-rails permanently secured as by rivetsabout midway of its heighton either side. F ig. 2 shows feedwater heater6 provided with similar rails 16 to cooperate with said rails 15 insupporting the heater within the shell. Boiler 7 is likewise providedwith similar rails Unpproximately coextensive with the firetubes andcarrying the entire weight of tube portion of the boiler. To aid support5 in carrying the weight ot the firebox portion ot the boiler, and toprovide an airtight connection between the boiler and shell section 21,there are provided channel railsl2l (Fie: in alignment with rails l? andextending to the end of the tirebox. These rails 12 may be riveted onopposite sides ot theboiler. To render air-tight the union between `thelower rear edge of shell section 21 and the boiler, a semicircularchanneliron 11 is riveted around. the lower halt oit the throat of theboiler. Similarly a channel iron 57 is riveted around the upper halt otthe rear edge of the boiler. Thus in constructing the steam power plantfor a locomotive, said member is inserted (as hereinafter described) inshell-section 22, and then the three shell-sections (20, 21 and 22) areassembled; and then feed-water heater (Slis slid into place through thefront end, boiler 7 is slid in from the rear, crown section 9 with itsdome cover 23 is put on, and the channel irons 11, 12 and 57 are thenbolted lo the adjacent edges ot the shell. A circular door 1S may behingedto the front end of shell llto close the smoke-box.

lllhen it is desired at any time to` remove the feed-water heater' orthe boiler, itis merely necessari,7 to open door 18 in the case oi theheater which may then be withdrawn longitudinally, or to remove section9 in the case of the boiler, and after unbolting channels 11, 12 and 57the boiler may be withdrawn rearwardly. It desired Cab 10 may beunbolted,frpnrsection 21 and removed as a unit with section 9, aneye-bolt- 13 being `located .above the center or' gravity ot thiselement to facilitate its removal. An alternative arrangementis to tornisection ol uniform height with dome casing 23, in which case thissection need not be removed to permit withdrawal of the boiler. In thecase ot heavy locomotives, it may be desirable to provide additionalrails on the shell and heat-exchanging units at suitable points 25'* toassist in carrying the load, tor example, rails may be provided at thebottom ol the shell and cooperating rails on the bottoms oi' theeed-water heater and boiler.

Referring 'now to the construction ot the heat-exchanging units, asshown in Fig. 3, boiler 7 may be of any usual type, but is here shown asa drum having a front tubesheet 26 and back tubesheet 2T connected-byliretubes 28, and is secured in any desired manner to the ireboX 8 oi'any usual construction. ln order to limit the iorward travel'oil theboiler when being pushed forward into normal position, there is providedwithin the adjacent end or' one of the two shell-sections and 21, aswithin the iront end of waist-section 21, a stop-ring 29 and acooperating ring 30 permanently secured near the i'ront end ot theboiler. rrllo render the joint between rings 2S) and 30 tl ring 31 ofsuitable packing is placed j t in iront oil ring 30 before the boiler isinz'ferted, and will etlectually prevent the passage oi air when.theboiler has been pressed forward to its full extent.

The feed-water heater 6 lilewise comprises a drum having iront and bachtubesheets connected by iiretubes. No stop ring is required lor thefeed-water heater, however, since the union between the 'front edge ofwall 25 and rear edge of the cylindrical shell of feed-water heater 6need not begas tight, any combustion gases which pass therebetweenserving to heat theenterior sui-face oi the feed-water heater. To giveaccess to the space 141- between the boiler and feed-water heater, thereare provided a number of manholes .having covers 33, preferably one oneither side ot the shell 22. To carry hot feed-water. from heater G toboiler "l", there is provided a delivery pipe 34 leading lrom the upperportion of the feed-water heater to the bottom ot the boiler, this pipebeing provided with a suitable checr valve (not shown) to preventreverse flow. l/Vater is forced 'trom the tanlr into the forward portionot the feed-water heater by any desired type otfeed'pump or injector(not shown).

llii'th thelarrangeinent 0i the heat-exchanging units shown, it is seenthat the hot gases of combustion pass forward yfrom the irebox throughthe boiler tubes, thus utilizing the greater part .of their heat intheproduction of steam in the boiler. It is well known, however, thatunder modern conditions of locomotive tiring, the combustion occurringin the iireboX and boiler tubes is not complete so that there is stillfuel value in the gases, still at a relatively high temperature, whenthey reach space 14. n order to cause complete combustion of thesegases, means are provided for admitting fresh air to the space 14, whichair, combining with the hot gases, causes a secondary combustion. andthus constitutes the space 14 a secondary combustion chamber.v Thisheat, together with the specific heat still retained when the gasesreach combustion chamber 14 is, to a large extent, utilized in raisingthe temperature of the feed-water while passing through the iretubes ofheater 6.

Vhile any desired means may be employed for admitting fresh air tochamber 14, it has been found most satisfactory to provide a supply pipe35 having two arms whose front ends are open to the outside air atsmokebox yfront 18, and which arms extend longitudinally through thesmokebox and between the heater 6 and shell section 20 rearwardly tosecondary combustion chamber 14. The ends of the two arms are joined bya downwardly looping section which is perforated as indicated at 36(Fig. 3) to permit even distribution of the fresh air throughout thesecondary combustion chamber. Suitable means, such as butterfly valves37, are provided in each arm of air pipe 35 to regulate the flow of air,these valves being controllable from the cab 10 by any desired means(not shown).

wWhile a certain degree of satisfactory operation would result from theemployment of only the two heat-exchanging units, namely, the boiler'and feed-water heater, already described` a much higher degree ofeconomy vwill result from the use of a suitable superheater.Superheaters, as formerly employed, have been of very complicated andexpensive construction and have required a great deal of maintenance. Bythe present invention is therefore provided a new snperheater 38 whichis very similar in construction to a liretube boiler. As seen in Figs. 3and 4, the superheater comprises a drum 39 positioned in a large flue 40specially provided in boiler 7. The drum 39 extends from the plane ofback tubesheet 27 of the boiler to a point far enough beyond fronttubesheet 26 to allow of connection of a dry steam pipe 41 which leadsfrom steam dome 24 through the front tubesheet to the top of the frontend of drum 39. In order to conduct the steam entering the superheaterover as great a surface as possible of the superheater iretubes 42,there are provided a number `of horizontal baiiie plates 43 which extendentirely across the superheater between adjacent rows of tubes 42 andare alternately connected to the lfront tubesheet and back tubesheet ofthe superheater. The steam coming from the boiler thus travels in, thepath indicated by the arrows 44 in Fig. 4, passing the length of thesuperheater four times and thence through steam pipe 45 to thecylinders.

lThe iow of steam is regulated by any usual throttle valve (not shown).

The superheater may be supported in its flue 40 in any preferred manner,but it is most desirably supported by angle rails'46 (Fig. 6) secured onopposite sides of the inner surface o f flue 40, which cooperate withsimilar rails 47 secured to the drum 39. The superheater is thus madeslidably removable fr om its operative position inthe flue. VThe backsheet of the irebox would, unless specially designed, interfere with thepassage of the superheater through the rear end of the locomotive, sothat it is desirable to provide for withdrawal'of the superheaterthrough the front end. In order to permit such withdrawal through thefront end of the locomotive without the necessity of first withdrawingthe feed-water heater 6, there may be provided a large Hue 48 in heater6, arranged to be in alignment with the superheater and flue 40. Such alarge fiue 48 would, when open, act as -a by-pass to the retubes ofheater 6, to avoid lwhich result there is provided a damper 49 mountedat the front end of flue48 and quickly detachable therefrom.`Thisvdamper may be controlled from the cab to regulate the flow ofcombustion gases.

Owing to the high temperature at the back tube-sheet of the boiler andsuperheater, and the ,fact that there is no water in contact with theinsidev of the back tubesheet 50 of the superheater, this sheet wouldVquickly burn out unless protected. To prevent such burning out, thereis most desirably provided a water header 51 having iretubes 52 arrangedto register with the tubes in the superheater. Header 51 is suppliedwith water from heater 6 by a pipe 53 leading from the lower portion ofthe heater 6 between the wall of flue 40 and the superheater to thebottom of header 51. A pipe 54 conducts the water which has beenconsiderably heated in the header back to the upper portion of heater 6.This karrangement provides a continuous thermosiphon circulation throughheader 51 andv absolutely rotects the back tubesheet 50 of thesuperiieater lfrom burning' out while it also aids considerably inraising the temperature of the feed water. p, p

In assembling vthe locomotive, the sections 20, 21 and 22 of shell 4 arefirst set upand 'Hill' connected together asby riveting or Welding.Combustion chamber Wall 25 consisting of internally flanged arcuateplates ofcast iron may be next put in place, either a supporting ring 55being provided, or the front and rear edges of the plates being flangedoutwardly to be secured directly to the shell, Stop ring 29 may bepermanentlypositioned on sectionZl before assembling the shell. Section9 of the shell isnot bolted on to section 2l luntil after the boiler isinstalled, unless the raised crown design Aof section 9 is used. ln casethe heat-exchanging units ,re not completed at this time, the assembledshell may be placed on the main frame l ol' the locomotive.

When the leed-ivater heater ,6" and boiler 7 are ready fto be installed,boiler1 7 already provided With Kangle-rails f17 is inserted through the@remmer of tliesliell, and inthe locomotive `C lesigned es Shoivninlthedrawings croivn'section 9V is next bolted vinto place, lWhen shell 9 isprovided with the Araised croivnpreviously describechit may be bolted onto section 2 1 before the boiler is installed, since there is roombetween the crown o' the boiler and er' shell 9 Ato perni free passageof dome 21h Feed-Water heater 6 may be installed either before orlafterthe installation lof boileri? itbeing merely necessary to guide theangle-,rails 16 already se cured to heater 6 intoengagement Withtlieirsupporting rails l5, carried by shell section 20. The superheaterWater-header 51 and circulating pipes 53 and llare next set in place,the boiler being then ready for superheater 38 which is linsentedthrough 'line 4.78 lof the feed-Water heater, or Which may be placed inthe boiler before installation ofthe, same, there being suiiicient4cleanince to alloivthe passage of the superheater .angle-,rails l?through said iiue. The steam pipes lll and l5 are now connected up fromthe interior ot secondary combustion chamber lll, manholes beingprovided to give access to this chamber as has been described, and theassemblyy or the heat-exchanging units of the locomotive is complete.

From the foregoing description ity is seen that the present inventionprovides an arrangement of heateexchanging units which insures completecombustion of the Jfuel gases and a maximum utilization of the heattherefrom. Moreover, any one of the heatexchanging units may be removedfrom its operative position Without in anyway disturbing the other twoheat-exchanging units, and pipes interconnecting the various units areprovided with convenient unions to facilitate such independentremovability.

By this construction it is no longer necessary to lay up the entirelocomotive While some minor repair is made to 'one ofthe heatexchangingunits, it being merely Inecessary to remove the delectiveunt and replaceit shell, Aa heat-'exchanging unit such as a boi struction slidable intoand out with a spare part kept on hand for the pun pese.A,Thusthepercentagey of time that a locomotive is on the road is kept amaximum and thetime in the shop is mad-e a minimum.

lVhile the construction is primarily designed for use in railroadlocomotives, the inventionV is not limited to this particularapplication but miglitbe employed with advantage inl road'engines, steamrollers or possibly even in stationary power plants having a large'number fot identical steam generating units. A

Moreover parts may be used Yto the exclusion vof other parts, e. g. theplant may consistl of thelooilerv and feed-vvater heater, or theboilerand superh'eater. In the latter case the header 5l may be used as ayeed-Water heaterfthe 'i'eedivater being fed from the supply direct topipe 53, and from pipe 5e to the boiler." Thisform oi the invention maylie-easily' applied to'exis'ting locomotives, it being merelyunecessaryto cut out-some o'll the iiretubes and replace them With a large tine l0to accommodate the superheater.

claim: i l

l. s'team-generating plant such as a locoinotiveengine, comprising anexterior l..

fm 1 fl erslidalole into and out of one end oli' shell and consisting ofa drum which has at each end a tube sheet and encloscs aplurality ofireetubes supportedby said sheets and has a' large and uninterruptedflue through said sheets, a second heat-exchanging drumunit such as Aa'feed-Water heater of similar constructionslidable into and out or theother end or said shell and having a and' uninterrupted flue through itstube sheets, a'third Aheat-'exchanging drum-unit such as `a superheaterof similar construction slidable through the last-named flue and intoand out `of the first-named liuc, said shell enclosing also a secondarycoinbustion-chamber between theA adjacent ends oitv the tirst tivo drumsaforesaid, a duct admitting air from the 'trontot the loco motive lintosaid space, and dctacliahljvcoupled pipes aiilording communication 'withthe interiors of the respective drums.

2. A steam-generatingplant such as a lecomotive-engine, comprising anezterier shell, a heat-exchanging unit such as a boiler slid-- able intoand out of one end of sa Ll shell :and consisting oi' a drum which hasat nach end a tubesheet and enoloscs a plurality of fire-tubes supportedby said sheets and 'has a laro'e and uninterrupted vflue through 'I3 ,Yn

said sheets, a second heat-exchanging drumunit such as a 'feed-heateroit similar conor the other end of said shell and having a large anduninterrupted flue through its tubesheets, a third heat-exchangingdrum-unit such as a superheater'of similar construction slidable'throughthe last-named flue and into and out of the first-named flue, said shellenclosing also a secondary combustionchalnber between the adjacent endsof the first two druins aforesaid, and a duct admitting air through thefront of the locomotive into said space.

3. 'A steam-generating plant such as a locomotive-engine, comprising anexterior shell7 a heateexchanging unit such as a boiler slidable intoand out of one end of said shell and consisting of a drum which has ateach end a tubesheet and encloses a plurality of fire-tubes supported bysaid sheets and has a large. and uninterrupted ilue through said sheets7a-second heat-exchanging drum-unit such as a feed-water heater ofsimilar construction slidable into and out of the other end of saidshell and having a large and uninterrupted flue through its tubesheets,and a third heat-exchanging drum-unit such as a superheater of similarconstruction slid able through the last-named flue and into and out ofthe first-named ue, said shell enclosing also a secondaryconibustionchamber between the adjacent ends of the first two drumsaforesaid.

4. A steam-generating plant such as a locomotive-engine, comprising anexterior shell, a heat-exchanging unit such as a boiler slidable intoand out of one end of said shell and consisting of a druin which has ateach end a tubesheet and encloses a plurality of fire-tubes supported bysaid sheets and has a large and uninterrupted flue through said sheets,a second heat-exchanging drum-unit such as a feed-water heater ofsimilar construction sldable into and out of the other end of said shelland having a large and uninterrupted flue through its tube-sheets, and athird heat-exchanging drum-unit such as a superheater of similarconstruction slidable through the lastnamed Hue and into and out of therstnamed flue.

THOMAS F. FITZSIMONS.

